Blog by: Nathan McCoy
Algae are an important part of nearly every aquatic environment fulfilling important roles such as oxygen production and nutrient cycling.[i] However, in the case of algae the phrase “too much of a good thing” holds true as excessive quantities of certain species can actually be quite harmful to the environment.[ii] These algae build up within a body of water producing harmful toxins in what is commonly referred to as a harmful algal bloom (“HAB”).[iii] HABs are of significant national concern because of their health, ecological, and economic impacts.[iv] HABs have been reported in every state, with the number of occurrences likely to increase with environmental changes, increases to nutrient inputs, and expanding aquaculture farms.[v]
Currently there is legislation pending meant to address HABs, the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025.[vi] This act is an amendment of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (“HABHRCA”) which has already been amended at least three times, most recently in 2021.[vii] Having already passed the senate in its current form, it would not be surprising to see the 2025 act passed in its current state.[viii] This bring us to the question, will the 2025 Act fulfill its stated purpose to adequately address HABs? The pending amendment of HABHRCA is not perfect, as with all legislation, but would address several important gaps left by previous amendments and fulfills its purpose in addressing HABs.
Currently, the Federal programs that address HABs are headed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), who is responsible for marine and Great Lake waters,[ix] and by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), who is generally responsible for freshwater environments.[x] These two agencies co-chair the Interagency Task Force mandated by the HABHRCA, which is comprised of over a dozen other federal agencies.[xi] This Task Force, also commonly referred to as the Interagency Working Group on HABHRCA (“IWG”) is required to produce regular reports and plans around the formation, damage, and mitigation of HABs.[xii] These reports required by the HABHRCA may be changed by the potential 2025 amendment by simplifying the reporting structure and expanding the content.[xiii] The IWG report requirements would, under an amended HABHRCA, consolidate many of the different reports into just two quinquennial reports, one for Hypoxia, and one for HABs.[xiv] A new HAB report that absorbs the roles of various older reports into a clearly defined scope [xv] is a good step in the right direction and will likely make for a more useful product while ensuring closer communication between the IWG agencies.
Federal Interagency coordination is an important part in HAB management and event response[xvi] An important step towards better communication and cooperation between both federal, state and local entities is a standardized and collection and recording of data.[xvii] For some time an integrated US National HAB Observing Network (“NHABON”) was a significant goal of the US HAB community.[xviii] A fully implemented NHABON would allow for the collection and standardization of federal, state, and regional data about HABs in order to improve detection and prediction technologies.[xix] Relatively recently efforts have been taken to implement a NHABON through the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (“IOOS”).[xx] With those efforts being recognized and potentially codified by the HABHRCA of 2025.[xxi] If passed in its current form it would codify the integration of federal, state, regional, and local observing capabilities through the IOOS.[xxii] Codifying these efforts along with the funding provisions within the act would make this aspirational goal of a NHABON into a near guarantee. Codifying and presumably implementing a fully realized NHABON would be among the most significant impacts of this pending legislation.
Other changes introduced by the 2025 amendment include new requirements to consult with local entities across many provisions of HABHRCA,[xxiii] and clearer codification of the EPA’s role.[xxiv] Consulting with local stakeholders dependent on water resources[xxv] makes sense, but provisions already exist through the current legislation albeit in less definite terms.[xxvi] Similarly, the duties of the EPA in providing for freshwater aspects in the current legislation is present but awkwardly implemented,[xxvii] but the new legislation would codify the current role of EPA in much clearer language.[xxviii] Important changes to funding allocation within the 2025 amendment includes broadening the scope under which NOAA can administer grant funding,[xxix] creating new national-level incubation programs,[xxx] and the ability to waive certain requirements when spending on relief efforts towards HABs of national significance.[xxxi] Funding and the ability to distribute that funding, either through grants or inter-agency loans are among one of the most important factors in ensuring that vital HAB research is preformed and solutions implemented.[xxxii]
While many of the provisions are simply just changes of scope, codification of existing structure, or cleaning up of outdated language,[xxxiii] the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025 is an effective legislative step to address HABs. Simply authorizing funding and coding the creation of a NHABON is enough to that end. There are certainly more steps that could be taken such as implementing things like a unified emergency response,[xxxiv] or providing for standardized production and dissemination of analytical standards,[xxxv] but one amendment does not need to do everything. The legislation as it exists is likely to pass with bipartisan support and does make significant strides towards addressing HABS, fulfilling its purpose.
[i] Algae and Nutrient Sourcing, Nat’l Park Serv. (Dec. 2, 2020), https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/algae-and-nutrient-sourcing.htm [https://perma.cc/7KL3-TXZK].
[ii]Algal Blooms, Nat’l Inst. of Env’t Health Sciences (Mar. 28, 2025), https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/algal-blooms [https://perma.cc/DEQ6-4SY5].
[iii] Id.
[iv] Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Species, U.S. Nat’l Off. for Harmful Algal Blooms, https://hab.whoi.edu/species/ (last visited Oct. 6, 2025) [https://perma.cc/B5BJ-RA6G].
[v] Distribution of HABs, U.S. Nat’l Off. for Harmful Algal Blooms, https://hab.whoi.edu/maps/ (last visited Oct. 6, 2025) [https://perma.cc/UN2M-J7XX].
[vi] Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025, S.93, 119th Cong. (as passed by Senate, Sep. 10, 2025).
[vii] An Interagency Approach to Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control, Nat’l Ctr. for Coastal Ocean Sci., https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/science-areas/habs/habhrca/ (last visited Oct. 6, 2025) [https://perma.cc/Q246-7GQV].
[viii] S.93, 119th Cong. (as passed by Senate, Sep. 10, 2025).
[ix] Harmful Algal Blooms, Nat’l Ocean Serv. (Feb. 25, 2025), https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/ [https://perma.cc/4N5L-PVHT].
[x] The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act (HABHRCA), Env’t Prot. Agency (Feb. 5, 2025), https://www.epa.gov/habs/harmful-algal-bloom-and-hypoxia-research-and-control-amendments-act-habhrca [https://perma.cc/2NGW-WKYH].
[xi] An Interagency Approach to Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control, supra note 7.
[xii]The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act (HABHRCA), supra note 10.
[xiii] S. REP. NO. 119-34, at 7-11 (2025).
[xiv] Id. at 5.
[xv] Id. at 10-11.
[xvi] US National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms, Harmful Algal Research & Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy (HARRNESS), 2024-2034, at 178-181 (2024), https://go.whoi.edu/harrness-2024-2034 [https://perma.cc/A5U7-GE69].
[xvii] National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Framework for the National Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network: A Workshop Report, at 5 (2020), https://cdn.coastalscience.noaa.gov/page-attachments/news/NHABON_Framewk_WkshpReport_12-18-20_Final.pdf [https://perma.cc/434V-JHQH].
[xviii] Harmful Algal Research & Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy, supra note 16, at 13.
[xix] Id.
[xx] Framework for the National Harmful Algal Bloom Observing Network: A Workshop Report, supra note 17, at 5.
[xxi] S.93, 119th Cong. § 2-606 (as passed by Senate, Sep. 10, 2025).
[xxii] Id.
[xxiii] See generally S. REP. NO. 119-34 (2025).
[xxiv] Id. at 17.
[xxv] Id. at 12.
[xxvi] Id. at 14-15.
[xxvii] S. REP. NO. 119-34, at 14-15 (2025).
[xxviii] S.93, 119th Cong. § 2-603b (as passed by Senate, Sep. 10, 2025).
[xxix] S. REP. NO. 119-34, at 12-13 (2025).
[xxx] S.93, 119th Cong. § 2-606a (as passed by Senate, Sep. 10, 2025).
[xxxi] S. REP. NO. 119-34, at 22 (2025).
[xxxii] Harmful Algal Research & Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy, supra note 16, at 14-15, 90, 132, 138, 144.
[xxxiii] S. REP. NO. 119-34, at 5 (2025).
[xxxiv] Harmful Algal Research & Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy, supra note 16, at 15.
[xxxv] Id. at 14.